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The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster: The Great Gulf Hurricane
Contributor(s): Roker, Al (Author)
ISBN: 0062364669     ISBN-13: 9780062364661
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
OUR PRICE:   $19.94  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: August 2016
Qty:
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States - State & Local - Southwest (az, Nm, Ok, Tx)
- History | United States - 20th Century
- Nature | Natural Disasters
Dewey: 976.413
LCCN: 2015007009
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 5.6" W x 8.1" (0.55 lbs) 336 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - 1900-1919
- Locality - Galveston-Texas City, Texas
- Geographic Orientation - Texas
- Cultural Region - Gulf Coast
- Cultural Region - Mid-South
- Cultural Region - South
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

In this gripping narrative history, Al Roker from NBC's Today and the Weather Channel vividly examines the deadliest natural disaster in American history--a haunting and inspiring tale of tragedy, heroism, and resilience that is full of lessons for today's new age of extreme weather.

On the afternoon of September 8, 1900, two-hundred-mile-per-hour winds and fifteen-foot waves slammed into Galveston, the booming port city on Texas's Gulf Coast. By dawn the next day, the city that hours earlier had stood as a symbol of America's growth and expansion was now gone. Shattered, grief-stricken survivors emerged to witness a level of destruction never before seen: Eight thousand corpses littered the streets and were buried under the massive wreckage. Rushing water had lifted buildings from their foundations, smashing them into pieces, while wind gusts had upended steel girders and trestles, driving them through house walls and into sidewalks. No race or class was spared its wrath. In less than twenty-four hours, a single storm had destroyed a major American metropolis--and awakened a nation to the terrifying power of nature.

Blending an unforgettable cast of characters, accessible weather science, and deep historical research into a sweeping and dramatic narrative, The Storm of the Century brings this legendary hurricane and its aftermath into fresh focus. No other natural disaster has ever matched the havoc caused by the awesome mix of winds, rain, and flooding that devastated Galveston and shocked a young, optimistic nation on the cusp of modernity. Exploring the impact of the tragedy on a rising country's confidence--the trauma of the loss and the determination of the response--Al Roker illuminates the United States's character at the dawn of the "American Century," while also underlining the fact that no matter how mighty they may become, all nations must respect the ferocious potential of our natural environment.


Contributor Bio(s): Roker, Al: -

Al Roker is cohost of NBC's Today. He has received thirteen Emmy Awards, ten for his work on Today. He is the author of The Storm of the Century, an acclaimed history of the 1900 Galveston hurricane. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, ABC News and 20/20 correspondent Deborah Roberts, and has two daughters and a son.